BOND is back in a new instalment of the British super-spy’s adventures in Quantum of Solace. Daniel Craig once again plays the lead role, silencing the critics for good who were initially upset at the casting of this blond-haired, blue-eyed hero. The 40-year-old spoke just after filming ended about the rigours of the role, and the implications of having a new director.

Q: Did Quantum of Solace make even more demands on you than Casino Royale? A: It did really. Even though the whole process on Casino was me getting the job in the first place and getting involved with it in that way, this one I was involved with months before we started shooting – looking at the script, getting involved with casting, the whole discussion about Marc doing it and being involved with that.

It’s been more than just the shooting period.

And this time, physically there’s been a lot more to do. I needed to work out for a different reason this time, I needed to get as fit as I possibly could. Although I was big and muscled last time, I was actually not as fit as I am now. Actually, not now, but not as fit as I was two weeks ago – now I’m in rapid decline (laughs).

Q: It was reported in the press that you were injured on set. What happened? A: I chopped off the end of my finger and I lost the power in the finger, but it’s really healed amazingly.

There’s a postage stamp scar. I was slamming a door on Mathieu’s (Almaric, who plays the key baddie) face, so I probably deserved it (laughs). And I got eight stitches in my face from a kick. That was nothing really. I was back at work immediately. It’s tiny stuff.

But the thing is it got reported and it always does because there is always a story that leaks out somewhere from set, God knows where, but it does. Compared to so many other things that happened, it’s nothing.

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Q: There were some more serious accidents during the shoot…. A: Yes, one of our drivers was seriously injured and that put everything into perspective when that happened. Thankfully, he’s on the mend, because it just knocked everyone for six.

There’s a risk to what we do and, by the same token and, genuinely speaking, the risk is down to an absolute minimum. And it’s not to negate it in any way, but the amount of work put into making these things safe is phenomenal – they are checked, checked, checked and checked again. And something went wrong, a freak accident happened.

Q: What happens in the new film? A: We start immediately after Casino ended. He’s trying to find these guys who have killed the woman he loves, and the woman he thought loved him actually double-crossed him, turned against him and turned him in. So he’s obviously annoyed. And it’s about these levels of this company, a business, a huge organisation, which is an organisation that is influencing the world.

It ties in nicely with the idea of Spectre, this mythical organisation that might not be that far away from the truth – you know, companies aggressively buying up commodities to control them. And I don’t think that is very far away from some things that actually happen.

Q: What did Marc Forster bring to the project? A: Well, I think everybody was a little nervous of Marc because it was like ‘Well, what’s he done action wise?’ He took to it absolutely. He is incredibly meticulous – astoundingly meticulous – and therefore any doubts about him that anybody could have had were immediately wiped out, because you could see how prepared he was. He knows exactly what he is doing. And he’s a delight to work with.

He’s a storyteller first and foremost and he loves it. Just look at his movies – Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball.

At the root of them there is a good story and he always pulls out great performances.

When his name came up, I went ‘that’s a great idea’. I knew we had to try something different and that we had to be going somewhere different.

Q: Did you have a common goal for what the film would be trying to achieve? A: Marc and I discussed things and one of the things we both agreed had to be absolutely special about this was the locations, because, ultimately, that’s what a Bond movie is about.

If you can’t go and see a Bond movie and go somewhere where you’ve never been before or see a different side of somewhere, then it’s not a Bond movie. And the other thing is the style. And he agreed with me that whatever happens with this movie, we have to make it as beautiful and stylish as possible.

Q: Did you have certain things in mind? A: Certainly, my influences have always been the taught psychological dramas including From Russia With Love and all those from the ’60s and ’70s, and it was making sure that we played into that and brought some of that out in our film. And to make sure that we moved on from Casino and we didn’t just rehash Casino because that would have been an easy option.

We could have said “Well that’s the blueprint, let’s just do it again” and that wasn’t an option for anybody, which is great.

Q: With this one there are cars and planes and all the great toys. Do you enjoy that side of it? A: Oh yeah, all of it. There’s a great car chase sequence at the beginning. I’m in the Aston DBS and they’ve used that beautifully – it sounds and looks amazing and the chase is looking fantastic. There’s a plane sequence with a Dakota, which we nick and take off in.

It was kind of weird because we say “we’re not doing CGI”, but with that we kind of had to, but again Chris Cobould designed a rig, which is basically a Dakota fuselage, and we could actually fly the thing or make it look like it was flying.

Q: Can you fly? A: In theory I can fly, but in theory I can do anything! I did take a couple of lessons, theory lessons in a plane, just so that I look like I half-know what I’m doing.

Q: Do you like a gadget? A: We don’t have as many. MI6 has been redesigned and that in itself is a completely new thing. My thinking is if we introduce gadgets it has to come through the character of Q, but we would have to introduce Q first. I think we’ve got to do it properly.

  • Quantum of Solace is on general release everywhere now.